"It's most common within the first trimester, which is the first 12 to 13 weeks, when some women truly don't have any nausea or other symptoms" says Fahimeh Sasan, M.D., an OBGYN at Mount Sinai. "But once you get past that first trimester it takes a pretty good leap of denial to not know that you're pregnant... I'm currently eight months pregnant myself, and I'll tell you it's pretty hard to ignore."

In other words, if you had no clue you were knocked up until you were 11 weeks along, you're not alone. Here, five women share the surprising ways they found out—luckily, before they were in the delivery room.

Alyssa Zolna

"I had felt weird all week, but when I took a pregnancy test, it had come back negative. I shrugged it off figuring it was just one of those things and went about my life. A week later two friends stopped by my apartment for an impromptu visit and, as I'm a well-trained hostess, I immediately went about fixing a plate of snacks and brewing a batch of green tea for everyone. We sat around the table chatting, nibbling cookies, and sipping green tea, when all of a sudden I jerked upright from my normal slouch and ran for the bathroom, where I proceeded to toss my cookies and tea. I brushed my teeth and rejoined my friends announcing, 'I think I'm pregnant.' They rolled their eyes, but I was certain. I didn't trust the over-the-counter tests anymore, though, and made a doctor's appointment. Sure enough, I was pregnant. Fun fact: still can't abide the taste of green tea." —Melissa

What you should—and shouldn't—be doing to keep your lady parts in good shape:

Alyssa Zolna

"My husband Nick and I were doing a training run for a race, when I suddenly couldn't keep up. Nick, who is normally incredibly sympathetic and understanding, turned to me and said, 'What is wrong with you? Are you sick or something?'

"I told him I didn't know and wondered if my difficulty breathing meant I had developed asthma at age 41. I felt so bad that I cut the run short and went home.

"Later, I told my friend, Laura, also a runner, what happened. She told me that being out of breath can be a symptom of pregnancy, something I'd never heard before. I went to the drugstore and got a pregnancy test—two pink sticks! Later, a doctor told me that women often get out of breath in the first trimester because the body uses so much blood to build the placenta." —Miriam

"On December 24, I drove from New York to Connecticut to spend a quiet Christmas with my family. The night before, I'd finally gotten closure from my ex and was telling my best friend all the places I was looking forward to traveling to the next year. Within about 10minutes of being home, I realized my orthopedist had called me. He was going to put me on some arthritis shots to fix a knee problem I was having, so I had to take a pregnancy test in order to go on them. I called him back thinking it was about the arthritis shots, and he immediately said, 'We got the results of your pregnancy test... they came back positive!' He said it so happily, thinking he was giving me some great news on Christmas. I literally paused for at least 10 seconds and said, 'Like...I'm pregnant?' He knew right then that he had dropped a bomb.

"I started crying uncontrollably, and this poor guy was like, 'Well, you know, I'm just an orthopedist so perhaps we got the blood samples mixed up.' And I just kept crying. Then my dad and step-mom walked upstairs, were really confused when they saw black all over my eyes from my makeup, and I just said, 'I'M PREGNANT!'

"I went to get the pregnancy test and sure enough, it came back positive. But I remember seeing those +++ signs and thinking, it's all going to be okay. I knew I wanted a family and kids, so perhaps God just had a different plan for me. Now I have the most amazing son.'" —Erin

"My first daughter was 18 months old when I got pregnant with our second. I'd been on low-dose birth control pills at the time, and wondered if they were playing some role in the weight I seemed to be gaining (though the more obvious culprit was my newly rekindled devotion to french fries). I was at a regular follow-up visit with my midwife and remember telling her I still didn't have my period (which I chalked up to nursing), that I felt tired often, had headaches, and seemed to gaining weight, but none of it seemed particularly abnormal.

"The next day, I happened to be visiting some friends in the hospital to meet their newborn son. I was holding their baby thinking, oh man, these lovely little creatures are a lot of work. I'm not sure I can do it again, when the midwife called and left a message along the lines of 'You know, as I was putting away your chart, I thought, maybe we should have run a pregnancy test just to be sure.' As soon as I heard it, I knew she was right. And also, I wondered how I could have missed something so obvious. A drugstore pregnancy kit confirmed it and a hastily-scheduled follow up brought another big surprise. Not only was I pregnant, but I was 12 weeks along... Now, I have two lovely daughters and an IUD." —Regan

"It all began when I felt a giant knot in my stomach that wouldn't go away. It was literally as if I had a ball in my stomach—I would press down and feel something hard. I tried every over-the-counter pill recommended by my doctor, he even did a check up and said he wasn't sure what it was and had me take some blood tests. Nothing came back. The knot was so painful I couldn't move, bend over, pick things up, or even sit on my couch without being in pain. Nothing worked, but it eventually went away.

"I had no idea what it really was until two weeks later when I didn't get my period. I remember thinking, this isn't possible, I'm just stressed out. My boyfriend, however, told me I was pregnant and I kept telling him it wasn't possible. I took multiple First Response pregnancy tests and it kept coming back negative. I took another and it said both negative and positive. A week later I called a friend who suggested using a cheaper brand... and sure enough it was positive. I went to a women's health clinic for a blood test to be sure and it was positive. I made an appointment that same day to have the knot aborted in two weeks, when I knew I had a week off work." —Madeline

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